Monthly Archives: February 2014

Seventh Sunday after Epiphany: The Foundation

Reading

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Devotion

Peace be with you!

I have a lot of people who have been influential in my life. These people have provided me with the groundwork to be who I am today. I am one of very few who can say they keep in touch with teachers from elementary school. Because I have cerebral palsy, I was in a special classroom designed to meet my physical needs as well as provide me with an education. Linda Furlong was my lead teacher for six years. She made sure that my teachers made adaptations in the classroom so I could participate. Joyce Haas was my aide for seven years. She helped me in the classroom. Kris was the cook in the kitchen and her daughter, Julie, volunteered in my classroom as an aide. These women became my second family and are partly responsible for making me the woman I am today.

Of course, my parents played a big part in my development process as well. My mom taught me to be independent, never afraid to speak my mind. She  also stood up for me when people wanted to exclude me from activities when I was a child. My dad taught me to think for myself and to be willing to ask questions.

In the reading today, Paul is explaining to the Corinthians that he has only laid the foundation for their Christian faith. Paul gave them the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. It is up to the Corinthians to figure out what God is calling them to do now that Paul has fed them with the good news.

God’s temple is in each of the Corinthians. It is not a physical building. The temple is a sense of belonging to God and to each other. God dwells in each of us. God’s temple can only be destroyed if we turn our backs on him. Paul says, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person” (3:17a, NRSV). We destroy God’s temple when we walk away. We become dead to God because we are denying his gift of a relationship with him. When we are in a relationship with God, we become his holy temple. We hold his good news and share it with anyone that will listen.

It is not good enough for us to know the good news. We need to constantly struggle with the good news to understand what God is calling us to do in the world. We are his temple, but we need to share and welcome others into our fellowship. It might mean that we need to change how we do things. God is always calling us to go out into the world to lay the foundation in others. This requires us to continually be discerning what God is calling us to do and where he is sending us. We will never fully understand God’s wisdom. This is okay because when we think we know it all, we become fools. No one can fully understand what God is up to.

“You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God” (3:23, NRSV). You are connected to God through Christ. There is no way to destroy that connection with God unless you walk away from him. We are holy. We are the holy temple of God when we honor him through our deeds and words. His temple is in our hearts.

Now that I am older, I find myself distilling the values which my mentors and parents taught me into young women of the next generation. I am blessed to be a mentor to two fine young high school girls, Bekah and Samantha. I find myself passing down kindness and tough love, lending an ear and a hug when needed, and sharing advice that my mentors gave me. I am giving Bekah and Samantha the foundation to be able to live wisely in the world.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for those individuals who have laid the foundation of Christian living in our hearts. Help us to build upon that foundation and to discern where you are calling and sending us. Make us your holy temples. Guide us in your ways. Thank you for your wisdom in the world. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. Who are your mentors? How have they provided you with a foundation?
  2. Have you ever thought of yourself as a mentor to others? What are some bits of wisdom you could pass on to the next generation?
  3. What are you currently discerning?
Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany: Just Stop: It Is Not about Me

Reading

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The Corinthians are like teenagers who know the difference between right and wrong but still test the boundaries. Teenagers know what is expected of them and what they can get away with. They know what bugs their parents and how to butter them up. They start making their own decisions about their future as they make decisions about college applications and jobs. Yet teenagers are still children who do not understand the ways of the world.

The Corinthians continue to hold on to jealousy and quarrels among themselves. They hold on to worldly things: money, power, and possessions. By doing so, the Corinthians are holding themselves back from knowing God the Father and his plans for them. As long as you hold on to things and the ways of the world, your maturity growth in faith and maturity will be stunted because you cannot have both. You have to make a choice: God or the world.

Paul explains to the Corinthians that there is more to life than what the world has to offer. Paul explains how the lens of Jesus’ crucifixion is how we are to see and understand the world. Jesus died on the cross to restore our broken relationship with God the Father. Jesus died to take the cruelty of the world and replace it with God’s love. Jesus died to be among us and to open the lines of communication between you and God.

Yet the Corinthians want to make the good news about Paul and Apollos. Paul says, “Just stop; it is not about Apollos or me. We are just doing the groundwork of planting and watering—telling you the good news of Jesus’ crucifixion. However, the good news is about God who is with you and is nurturing you to do his work.” Paul planted and Apollos watered the seed of the good news in the Corinthians’ hearts, but God fertilizes their hearts so they can live out their lives according to his will. The good news is about God and what he is doing in the world through you.

There are times when we act like teenage Christians — testing God’s grace. We know we should not care about our clothes, but we do. We know we are to forgive and love our enemies, but they really stepped over a line last time. We know we are to love our neighbors, but must we go to the bad part of town?  We have our reasons— too time consuming, people will never change, and [whatever “it” is]. God answers back, “I could have said the same about you, but I have made you my child.”

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending people into our lives to tell us the good news. Help us to share the good news with others. Nurture us as your chosen people. Send us where no one else wants to go. Thank you for never giving up on us. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. Who planted the good news in your heart?
  2. How do you continue to choose God over the world? Why is he important to you?
  3. How does God continue to nurture you?
Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany: God’s Wisdom

Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The world has some pretty concrete rules with which no one seems to argue:

Whatever goes up must come down.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be redistributed or changed from one form to another.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Even as a Christian, you do not argue against these laws of science. Some things you just never question. However, the world deceives you and causes the truth to be foggy and hidden. The devil wants you to believe there is nothing beyond this life. Death gets the final say. This seems like scientific fact.

Paul points to another way of looking at and understanding the world: through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Despite the devil’s efforts, the Lord is active in the world. God intervenes in the world on our behalf through self empathy and self giving. In his wisdom, God sends Jesus to be crucified, killed, and resurrected out of his unconditional love for us.

The world does not understand God’s wisdom because it does not follow the rules of the world. Jesus dies on the cross, and then he rises three days later to new life in the Kingdom of God. This makes no sense in a world where death marks the end of one’s life. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s wisdom to those who believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. God’s wisdom leads us to his glory in his kingdom where we will be granted eternal life.

The world tries to get us to turn against God’s wisdom. You may have fallen into this trap when you defend your place in the world. You seek acceptance in the world for your uniqueness and for what you have to offer. You accept the way the world operates and expect nothing more or less. The world causes you to limit everything to what can be proven by seeing, hearing, and feeling.

Yet God’s wisdom turns you away from the world and into the unknown and indefinable. Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection breaks down the laws of physics and biology. On the cross, Jesus’ way turns the world upside down, inviting you to believe in something more than what this world has to offer. It forces you to understand the possibility of the impossible. God intervenes on your behalf, so you can enjoy eternal life in his kingdom.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your wisdom and power. Help us to live according to your wisdom. Turn us away from the way of the world. Lead us to share the good news with individuals in the world. Guide us with your wisdom. Thank you for your promise of eternal life. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. How does the world turn you against God’s wisdom?
  2. How do you live according to God’s wisdom?

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Photo Credit: Amber Sue Photography, www.ambersuephotography.com

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: The World’s Foolishness

Reading

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Some stories and jokes are better told in certain groups than others. I poke fun at myself because I tend to knock over bookcases, put holes in walls, and break anything glass. I am an elephant in a China shop. A few friends worry when I post about my destructive accidents, while others just laugh with me over my Cerebral Palsy moments.

The resurrection story seems foolish to outsiders. A man crucified cannot be raised from the dead three days later. To a human mindset, this seems impossible. When you die and are buried, you stay dead. The resurrection story seems like a foolish fairy tale.

Paul explains how the resurrection story tells us about God’s power in the world. While some people look for signs and others desire wisdom, Christians look for God’s power and wisdom through the resurrection. God’s wisdom does not make sense in this realm, because it breaks all the physical rules. The world holds up victories and power and might. Jesus made Himself weak that we might be made strong.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and the hungry and thirsty. The people who the world leaves behind and ignores, God lifts up and makes his own. While the world would give you the cold shoulder and talk about you behind your back, God wraps a blanket around you, gives you food and water, and takes away your pain. There is nothing God would not do to save you from being persecuted by making you righteous and giving you the Kingdom of God.

The world desires and creates powerful leaders to conquer enemies. There is no need for weak individuals in a world that worships power. The resurrection story breaks down these perceptions and goes against them. Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God, becomes weak when he hangs on the cross and dies for our sins. Nothing about Jesus Christ is definable in this realm.

As a disciple, you live in a different set of standards and rules than the rest of the world. You desire life with the Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You look forward to eternal life in the Kingdom of God. You stand firm in knowing the crazy crucifixion and resurrection and are excited for Jesus’ Second Coming. You believe all of this because you know God can and will overcome everything in this world.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the crazy crucifixion and resurrection story and the promise of Jesus’ second coming. Help us to understand the resurrection story and to share it with those around us. Lead us to extend forgiveness to others and be compassionate to those who are on the outside. Thank you for your compassion for the broken. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. What about the crucifixion and resurrection story seem crazy to you?

 

 

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